Spoilers for Thor #1 below
Marvel Comics has to be extra careful when revealing covers for future issues. For one, revealing a cover a couple of issues ahead of what's been published can lead to bigtime spoilers being revealed. However, in the case of Thor, Marvel intentionally misled which future covers were which to avoid a big reveal.
In Thor #1 by Donny Cates and Nic Klein, Thor Odinson takes on a role he's never held before - The herald of Galactus. After the devourer of worlds arrives on Asgard, he changes Thor into his new herald saying he needs his help as the Black Winter is coming. Thor's new gig was an interesting, huge twist. In order to avoid people from catching on to Thor becoming Galactus' new herald, they had to be creative with their marketing for the series.
It's been pointed out Marvel switched the covers for Thor #2 and Thor #4. Previously, the fourth issue featured an image of Thor being controlled by Galactus - which obviously would have been a massive spoiler if it was the cover image for the second issue. Instead, having Galactus grace the cover of the fourth issue made it seem Thor would just encounter him. If it was the second issue, people would have clued in much quicker.
So, what's actually on the cover of the fourth issue? Marvel still hasn't released an official image since when the second issue was first previewed there was no cover shot available. It's somewhat surprising nobody figured out the smart marketing move ahead of time. But, then again, people could have thought Thor #2 was too spoilery for Marvel to reveal and post right away - technically, that's correct.
In a comics landscape where previews are published months in advance of the actual books coming out, Marvel made the right call to deflect attention away from Galactus and Thor being on the cover for what turned out to be issue #2. It made the reveal all that more surprising and set up what's sure to be an amazing Thor run by Cates and Klein. In this case, Marvel Comics beautifully protected the reveal.
- THOR #2
- Written by Donny Cates
- Art by Nic Klein
- Cover by Olivier Coipel
- Variant Cover by Inhyuk Lee
- THE BLACK WINTER AND THE DEVOURER KING!
- Before him lies the Black Winter; behind, a trail of death wrought by his own hand. The God of Thunder hurtles through the cosmos, searching for the power to save Asgard and all existence. But no power in the heavens can save a god — a king — from his bloody duty.